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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. last — finally
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. mate — to breed
  5. game — wild animals
  6. lean — thin
  7. drill — a practice
  8. last — to go on
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. mate — a friend
  11. lean — to bend
  12. last — final
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. season — of the year
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. game — a match
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. season — in sport
  19. drill — army training
  20. mate — a partner
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. wind — moving air
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. wind — moving air

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com